Can Crime Stoppers make Mexico a safer place?

The initiative is the latest attempt to curb violence in the border city, which has become so volatile that the U.S. Consulate in Juárez last week issued a warden message warning U.S. citizens to refrain from nonessential travel to the area, noting that more than 2,300 homicides have occurred in the area in 2009 alone. Kidnapping, extortion and other crimes also are on the rise, and increasingly organized crime is targeting family members and children of those involved in the struggle.

But for the tip line to work, citizens must feel confident their calls will be kept confidential. Impartial intelligence analysis is also essential, as well as corruption-free investigation and enforcement by law enforcement. Success will depend upon collaboration between the public and the police, with the effectiveness of the effort reflecting the strength of each link in the chain.

As the citizens of Juárez gain confidence in Crime Stoppers, I predict the results will improve exponentially.

UPDATE, Feb. 17, 2010: The tipline now has a new phone number. When calling from Juarez, the number to dial is 01-800-220-8477. The calls are not being answered in Juárez to enhance the security of callers.

Joan Neuhaus Schaan is the fellow in homeland security and terrorism at the Baker Institute. Since late 2004, she has served as the executive director of the Houston-Harris County Regional Homeland Security Advisory Council. Since 2007 she has served on the Board of Crime Stoppers of Houston, Inc.

Here is an update on the tip line. Although the program officially launched last week to great media fanfare, the line is not yet operational. The sponsoring organization will be Crime Stoppers International based in Canada, tel. 800.850.7574. The Juarez telephone number is expected to be active in January 2010, and is anticipated to be accessible across Mexico. Crime Stoppers El Paso also should know the number once it is activated, and their number is 915.566.TIPS (915.566.8477) or 877.566.TIPS.

This will be interesting to watch it play out. It’s my understanding the tipline is manned in Canada, correct? If so, that could lend to a lot more confidence and credibility in the system. Otherwise I fear that most Mexican citizens will worry (rightly) about corruption within the organization. This process (conceptually) could be a great tool in fighting the DTOs. It will require dedicated investigation and enforcement follow up to show it’s credible. Best of luck/buena suerte.

As long as the tip line is based in Canada, this system will be a great tool for Mexican citizens that are sick and tired of the violence and corrupt reputation. If the tip line is based in Juarez it self… the tip line employees will be targeted by the drug gangs!

The Juarez situation is not a new one, it has just in the recent history became a media event. The people in the area are very resourceful and according to old friends, this has become an

money resource from the lowest resident selling stories to the press, to the government getting huge monetary sums from our government to fight crime.

Some corners say they wish the media and everyone else would go away, because the media attention is causing the rising crime. Additional killings and other criminal activity are being done and in such a way that it will be sensationalized by the media so more media and money will be brought to the area. There are many reporters and other media throwing money around for stories, even Rivera, and hotels, motels, food services etc. are seeing an unprecedented rise.

In El Paso and Juarez in the 50′s, 60′s, kids would play in the surrounding desert and find shallow graves and bodies usually on a weekly basis. El Paso had the highest per crime murder rate for many years and was a local black humor joke.

Becoming a Mexican border guard (for Mexico)cost $10,000 US in 1972 to get the job. A guard made that back and a very good living quickly with the “mordida” system.

When a project was done for the governor of Chihuahua identifying farm equipment that the government and he could buy to increase the agricultural production in the northern Mexico state, the Governor said it would cost too much. Shortly thereafter he nationalized and seized all the necessary equipment from Americans who had large “fincas”.

There exists a ‘card system’ for a variety of special favors that exists. If one were to have or be issued such a card issued by the governor, it would bear his signature and photo. In theory, some say, even if one committed a homicide and waited for the police to arrive, simply showing the card would cause the matter to be dropped.

Prominent people, people with money, business people with connections, and drug cartel members have these cards, which accounts often for the lack of arrests, capture or information leading to an investigation. The card system is tiered and the lowest would just be the generic card which allows you to get out of traffic offense and other minor charges such as public intoxication.

With systems like this in place, the only persons arrested are ones that the influential people want the police to catch and the media to know about (ie. fall guy.) They are usually well taken care of in their prison system if they are connected. If they are just some

railroaded schmuck, then they are sent to horrible places and weird things are done to them like a thing called the “The Parrots Bench or Seat”. These people will eventually confess to anything.

If they are sent to the prison in state Michocan, they are well connected and live better in the prison than most people do

in the United States.

Another example was a place in Juarez that you get could any vehicle you wanted, make, model, year, style, etc. for usually 20-40% less than the US with a clean title.

The drug Cartel is so entrenched in El Paso and Juarez even the director of the FBI El Paso was bought and paid for by the Cartel

(luckily he was discovered accidentally by a DEA wire tap and eventually convicted).

The Shagra’s were well noted cartel attorneys out of El Paso. One of the Shagras was found shot to death at his home with 30K in case on his desk. The local papers said it was a robbery, but the local word was he angered the Cartel he was working for at the time. Some say Juarez is being used as a diversion so that the Sinaloa and Gulf Cartels are left alone. Juarez is in the middle of the twos territories.

El Paso and Juarez are not understood by outsiders even at high levels of the Homeland security group. A recent conference speaker with tremendous credentials spoke of the large influx of Korean terrorists through Juarez and El Paso. He explained that it was evident because of the large population of Koreans found in El Paso. He speculated that there was no reason for that congregation other than illegal activities and terrorism.

What the speaker failed to realize is the number of soldiers at Ft. Bliss that have had Korean assignments, married Koreans, and brought the spouse and family back to El Paso. In addition, Korean soldiers are regularly sent to Ft. Bliss for training.

Another tid bit of info. Just recently a news presentation stated that the largest tunnel was discovered between Mexico and the US. This may not be accurate, in that a tunnel was discovered a long time ago that led from the Mexico across from the UTEP (University of Texas – El Paso) campus that was big enough to drive small trucks through. There have been other recent reports of Mexicans crossing into the U.S. outside El Paso in an Escalade. The passengers were wearing military uniforms, and the Escalade had a porthole in the roof through which a 50 caliber machine gun would come up.

The Anonymous writer sound like a well versed and in the know. The individual is correct about the current events in Juarez and El Paso. The individual was very informative, thanks.

I never heard about a “card system” toting elite group of individuals in Mexico,but I have heard that the Gulf Cartel use code numbers to inform Mexican Law Enforcement at check point who they are and who they repesent and are left alone w/ whatever elicit cargo they posses. I’m not talking about their radio call code “Z” either.

The Shagra family mentioned above is believed to be refer to the ‘Chagra’ family. Jimmy Chagra, the primary mastermind in the assassination attempt onn of U.S. District Judge John Wood Jr., has been paroled, according to recent news reports. Jimmy’s wife, Elizabeth, had been convicted of paying the hitman $250,000. Charles Harrelson, the father of actor Woody Harrelson, was the hit man.

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